Professor Yang Qingqing of Shanghai Theatre Academy's major monograph, Research on the Design of Chinese Opera Costume Pattern Element Codes, a National Publishing Fund project, has been officially published. The Shanghai Library and Donghua University Press jointly organized a new book launch and thematic seminar. Attendees included the Shanghai Publishing Association, the Shanghai Municipal Propaganda Department’s Publishing Division, the Shanghai Art Research Center, the Shanghai Art Archives, Shanghai Theatre Academy, and others. Opera performers Mr. Chen Shaoyun and Ms. Li Peihong, Professor Wu Haiyan from the China Academy of Art, cultural historian Mr. Gao Chunming, opera researcher Ms. Fei Yong, Peking Opera scholar Mr. Yu Kaiyi, and many more were present. The President of the China Arts and Crafts Society’s Jacquard Committee and Director of the Nanjing Yun Brocade Museum, Mr. Jian Mingwei, also sent congratulatory messages and videos. Experts from various fields offered comments on the book, unanimously recognizing its publishing value and significance.
Research on the Design of Chinese Opera Costume Pattern Element Codes is a book that studies the historical development of Chinese opera costume patterns, explores the constituent elements of these patterns and the data elements that emerge from them, and uses computer algorithms for processing and creative transformation in modern design applications. The book, with 1.3 million words, is divided into thirteen chapters and uses text complemented by charts, diagrams, illustrations, and images. It studies everything from the “Twelve Chapters Patterns” on the ceremonial attire of imperial officials 4,000 years ago to the costumes and patterns of the four main Chinese opera roles (sheng, dan, jing, chou) and nearly 20 subcategories of roles. It also investigates the color composition of traditional Chinese colors in opera costume patterns for the first time, establishing a color palette and genealogy for Chinese traditional opera costume patterns. The book analyzes over 30 categories of opera costume patterns and presents over a hundred contemporary design examples based on traditional Chinese opera patterns. It also establishes a hierarchical model for pattern classification and creates a digital atlas of Chinese traditional opera costume patterns.
Author Yang Qingqing is dedicated to the transformation of traditional Chinese culture into contemporary art design and the integration of art and technology. She has led several national cultural and artistic planning projects as chief expert. Yang was the first to propose the concept and methodology of “transmedia” and pioneered “transmedia art design” courses for undergraduate and graduate students, becoming one of the earliest advocates and practitioners of transmedia art worldwide. She is the Director of the Chinese Cultural and Tourism Performance Creation and Education Research Center at Shanghai Theatre Academy, Deputy Director of the Key Laboratory of Digital Performance Integrated Innovation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Chair of the Visual Arts Committee of the Shanghai Stage Design Society. Yang Qingqing has curated and created numerous projects such as Jiangnan Kunqu Opera Conference, 100 Years of Kunqu Transmission, Through the Dream of Red Mansions, New Media Interactive Interpretation of Peking Opera Facial Makeup, Transmedia Art Exhibition - Another Mei Lanfang, Elegant Melody of the Ages - Yu Zhenfei’s 120th Anniversary Exhibition, Chinese Cross-Stitch, Contemporary Transformation of Chinese Opera Patterns, Peking Opera Master Zhou Xinfang Exhibition, and Lin Chuan Si Dreams in New York. In recent years, she has led her team to win two Red Dot Awards (the highest international award), one German Design Award, one Muse Platinum Award, and one Muse Gold Award. She has been awarded an honorary artist medal by the French government and named an advanced individual in the Overseas Chinese Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
In her book, Yang Qingqing uses practical case studies of transmedia art to provide detailed analysis on how to upgrade patterns from individuality and concreteness to quantification, categorization, and logical structuring using the latest computer technologies. She has created a scientific system for digital analysis and redesign tools. The book also introduces methods for creating and innovatively displaying patterns using cutting-edge technologies such as AR, VR, XR, MR, digital generation, and artificial intelligence.
The book has been recommended by the renowned dramatist and educator Professor Ye Changhai, who praised it as “opening up a new field for research into Chinese traditional art, with both literary and academic value; it also serves as a reference for professionals due to its encyclopedic nature.” Opera performer Mr. Chen Shaoyun highly praised the book, especially its research on the element codes of traditional patterns and the transformation of contemporary design, along with its use of artificial intelligence for design experimentation. He described it as “a great achievement for the present day, beneficial for the future.” Li Peihong, Professor and National First-Class Actor, Dean of the School of Chinese Opera at Shanghai Theatre Academy, believes that Yang Qingqing exemplifies the integration and transformation between contemporary fashion and outstanding traditional culture. She described the book as pioneering, innovative, systematic, practical, interdisciplinary, and a valuable contribution to research in Chinese traditional arts, which will surely have a profound impact on the art field.
Experts believe that this book provides a great paradigm for young people in today’s digital age by using digital methods to reinterpret traditional costume patterns, thus revitalizing and transforming traditional culture. The book has reorganized and summarized the opera costume patterns scattered in folk culture, restored them with modern scientific techniques, and expanded them further. This is both a faithful preservation of our traditional culture and a form of promotion.
The book won the 2024 Shanghai Book Art Design Award – Overall Design Award. The content of this book will be exhibited in Europe and the United States, allowing the world to appreciate the beauty of China.
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